Who makes the decisions regarding your health care? Your doctor? Maybe not. And that is a growing problem. Today, though patients may not realize it, private equity's footprint can be found most everywhere health care is provided: emergency rooms, hospital chains, general practitioners' offices, cardiologists' offices, home health agencies, nursing homes and more recently, even in behavioral health. Private equity firms have invested almost $1 trillion in hospitals and specialized practices over the last decade and there is no end to this surge in sight. The consequences of this seismic shift upon patient care and costs to the government payers are increasingly drawing scrutiny from industry observers.